How to Thank the Wrong Person
by Cat-Fluff
Summary: A mysterious someone helps Naruto, and it's up to him to thank them! That's if... he can find the right person. NaruHina
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Of course! Not.

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_It was a hot summer night._

_Somewhere in the Village of the Hidden Leaf, a young blonde boy was slowly being evaporated into the summer night._

* * *

'_Right side.'_

_'Left side.'_

_'Right side.'_

"ARGHHHHH!!"

Uzumaki Naruto gave up deciding which side to sleep on and decided to go on a walk to cool off.

He stepped quietly out of the doors and headed out, wondering if Ichiraku would still be open.

He stumbled wearily down the street, blinking blindly and walked straight into a lowbranch.

_'Damn.'_

He felt his body fall flat back as black dots clouded his vision.

'_Noooo… I mustn't black out! Not here!'_ his head moaned.

The last thing he remembered were clear eyes staring into his.

* * *

Sunlight streamed into Naruto's messy room.

'_Head-ache… __Am I having a hangover? I don't remember drinking. But it's not like I ever really remember anything…'_

Last night's events rushed back all at once.

He bolted up into a sitting position.

'_But I'm in my bed and everything.'_

He paused, then climbed wearily out of his bed and stumbled to his fridge.

He wrenched the fridge-door open.

'_Milk… and cereal. I'll feel better with food inside me.'_

Naruto sat down at his table and started to inhale his food.

'_Someone saved me. I remember looking into someone's eyes. Clear ones.' _

"Clear eyes mean Hyuga… N-not NEJI!" Naruto exclaimed, horrified, "I'll have to thank him! I don't know how to thank guys!"

Naruto stopped eating for a moment.

"Maybe Sakura-chan does… Sakura-chan! I'm supposed to be at the bridge!"

Naruto finished his food in record time and ran for the bridge.

* * *

Birds chirped.

"Gomenasai. I got lost on the road of life--"

"LIAR!" screeched Sakura and Naruto. Sasuke 'hn-ed'.

Kakashi scratched his head, looking vaguely embarrassed.

"Alright team, let's head to the tower."

The team wandered off to the Hokage's office.

"Tsunade-baasan! Can we have an A-rank mission this time!?" Naruto yelled.

A sake bottle smashed onto the wall next to his head.

Shizune popped her head through the doorway.

"Ah, gomenasai, Tsunade-sama has a hangover… She told me to tell all the teams that they can have a day off." said Shizune sheepishly.

"ALRIGHT!!"

This time, Naruto had to duck as another bottle came flying.

Shizune hurriedly ushered them out.

Kakashi turned to his team.

"Dismissed." He said as he wrenched his favourite book from his pocket and ambled off.

Sasuke grunted and walked off. Sakura prepared to walk off as well when Naruto remembered.

"Sakura-chan!!" he yelled as he ran after her.

"What do you want, Naruto?" asked Sakura in a disgruntled tone.

"I uh… wanted your help." he mumbled.

"What help? Naruto, I'm busy so I suggest you to start talking or don't talk." said Sakura as she flexed her muscles.

Naruto gulped slightly, and then forged on.

"Well uh… I need to thank someone and uh… I'm not really certain on how to thank them."

Sakura raised a brow.

"Who's this someone?"

"Uh… Well uh…" Naruto scratched the back of his head, "They have uh… dark hair… clear eyes…"

Sakura's eyes took on a maniacal glint.

"Hinata…?" she whispered softly to herself.

"Their last name starts with an 'H'." Naruto finished.

He looked at Sakura who looked at him mischievously.

It appeared his message had gotten through, even if it didn't go through correctly.

"Flowers! And a card saying thank you." Sakura nodded knowingly.

'_Flowers for Hyuga Neji? Oh well… Sakura-chan knows what she says… ah. Yamanaka Flower Shop.'_

* * *

Bells tinkled as Naruto walked into the Yamanaka flower shop.

"N-naruto?" stammered an astonished Ino.

"Uh… I was wondering… do you have flowers that you give to someone for thanking them?" asked Naruto uncomfortably. Ino was still gaping at him, then she seemed to recover.

"Of course."

Five minutes later, Naruto walked out of the shop holding a massive bouquet of flowers with a card attached to one of the many stems.

"Darn. I can't see where I'm going." scowled Naruto as he stumbled blindly on the streets.

"Aughhh!"

Naruto looked down to see who he walked into.

'_YES! A Hyuga!'_

"Gomenasai, Hanabi-san." he apologised to Hinata's little sister.

Hanabi's clear eyes glared suspiciously at him.

"Can I help you?" she asked icily. Naruto nodded eagerly. Hanabi seemed to notice the flowers and backed away. She shook her head at him. Naruto's face fell.

"Can't you deliver this to Neji-san for me?"

Hanabi's eyes seemed to widen about a mile. (Think wrong; this is a little girl with an adult's mind after all.)

"Why not? You live at the same place as him don't you?" whined Naruto. Then it hit him.

"No! No-no-no-_no_!" Naruto cried, holding his hands up as he shook his head frantically, "It's nothing like that! He helped me and I need to thank him and this is what Sakura-chan suggested!"

Hanabi calmed down enough to accept the bundle of flowers and took off.

Somewhere across the street at that time, another pair of clear eyes surveyed the scene.

'_I-is Naruto-kun__ g-giving th-those flowers t-to Hanabi-nesan to g-give to ME?'_

The shy figure blushed immensely; somewhat resembling a tomato.

'_I should h-hurry and g-go home and see.'_

**To be continued...**

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_Review is good for you! It is beneficial to the reviewer and receiver!_

_-hint-_


	2. And as it continues

**A/N. Thought it was time to speak up... Hi to my precious readers! Let's see... Since I've learned about copyright and such at school, it appears that I need to give credit to a friend of mine who quotes in the story- Uh... yeah. To my Simmering-Tofu friend that quoted this and so kindly agreed to let me borrow it- let me dedicate this chapter to you although it's a little poor to my standards. -grins-**

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Disclaimer:** YES! Of course he's **not** mine!**

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_And so as our little shy friend hurries on her way home, her little sister arrives back first..._

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"NEJI-SAN!" Hanabi yelled the minute she stepped into the Hyuga House. Someone grunted on the left of her.

"Here." she said, thrusting the massive bouquet of flowers to Neji.

"What are these for?" he growled suspiciously.

Hanabi shrugged. "No idea, but there's a card, why don't you read it and relieve me from this suspense?" she said sarcastically. Neji glared at her but said nothing. He ripped the card out and scanned the piece of paper.

"What the…" he trailed off.

"What is it? Let me see!" demanded Hanabi.

"No! Leave it! Bad Hanabi!" Neji used his superior height to keep Hanabi from grabbing the letter.

"It's a confession of love to you, isn't it? And I bet you feel the same! But I guess it's not too bad since you're enough like a girl…" Hanabi trailed off as she saw the look on Neji's face.

"Read it, and now I know who's been sneaking into my room and stealing my R16 magazines."

Hanabi blushed, but ripped the card from Neji's hand.

"…what were you doing out on the streets at night? I bet you were going to try and deal drugs or-"

Neji cut in, "I wasn't out anywhere last night, so I'm guessing these aren't my flowers and since fate has decided to hate me and give me allergies, you can have those."

Neji tossed the heap of flowers at his younger cousin who staggered under the weight. Then Neji stalked off to find an unfortunate 'someone'. As Neji disappeared out of the door, Hinata returned and saw the flowers.

"Wh-whose are th-those flowers, Hanabi?" Hinata asked softly. Hanabi looked up.

"Mine." she said shortly, still trying to arrange the flowers into a better shape. Hinata froze, then smiled a small smile.

"D-do you need a vase?"

Hanabi looked up, and then finally smiled. "Ok, thanks."

* * *

Naruto looked up nervously as he saw a clear eyed male figure approach.

"H-h-h-hi…" he said, stammering enough to rival Hinata.

The prodigy glared down at the seated boy.

"Why did you give me flowers?" Neji asked in a deadpan voice.

Naruto moved his mouth soundlessly; apparently, his voice had decided to desert him at the worst moment possible. Finally, his voice returned after a few moments of flapping his mouth.

"B-b-b-be-because y-you h-helped m-me…?"

"Is that a question or your answer?" Neji said, still in a monotone.

"A-answer?"

The prodigy glared at Naruto hard enough to drill holes in a boulder.

"I don't recall helping you, Uzumaki."

"L-last n-night?" Naruto was wondering if being buried underneath ice caps was like being glared at Hyuga Neji.

"I still don't recall anything."

Naruto just stared, terrified.

"You're thanking the wrong person, Uzumaki, and if I were you, I'd hurry and find the real person before they think you don't care."

Naruto continued to flap his mouth soundlessly as Neji walked off. Slowly, his brain started to unfreeze.

'_Wrong person? Then who do I have to thank? If I remember right, the face was young… around my age or younger… Hinata? No-no-no-no-no, she never even **talks** around me… the little sister? No way. She couldn't even drag me back to my house. But then again. Hyuga's are pretty strong. So. Hanabi it is_.'

* * *

Hyuga Hiashi was curious. More curious than he had ever been. When did his baby daughter receive flowers?

_'They grow up so fast._' he sighed.

Growing up was definitely NOT the answer though.

_'I have to protect her. This is the younger sister of the heiress of the great Hyuga clan of Konoha; it could_ _be a stalker!'_ thought Hiashi furiously, _'Or something worse! A pedophile, or the worst of all… a boy! That, Otousan would NEVER ALLOW!! Never! Absolutely NEVER. Otousan would make sure anyone who dared court his baby daughter regret being alive.'_ Hiashi nodded to himself firmly. _'Otousan has spoken.'_

* * *

Tinkle tinkle

The bells by the door tinkled. Ino glanced up from the counter.

"N-naruto? Y-you again?"

Naruto looked unusually defeated.

"Did you get rejected?" asked Ino 'kindly'.

"W-what? No! Just… gave the flowers to the wrong person. Can I get the same things as before?"

Ino smiled. _'Yay! A great sales day today! I'm selling a lot today, even if it's to the same person!'_

"Of course!"

And once again, Naruto staggered out of the shop. He walked aimlessly for a bit, trying to find his surroundings. After a couple of hours of walking around in circles and squares, he found himself at the doorstep of the Hyuga's place.

"Oh. It's _you_. Again." said a young voice icily. Naruto looked down to see Hyuga Hanabi. Relief swept over him. Once this thanking was over, he'd never have to face the Hyugas again!

_'Oooh, a ramen party sounds good!'_

"Hey uh… thanks for helping me last n…" Naruto trailed off as a seething Hyuga Hiashi approached. His mind wandered off again. Was this what it felt like to be a cockroach about to be stomped on under someone's foot?

"Is this boy the one who gave you flowers last time, Hanabi?"

"Yes otousan." said Hanabi obediently.

Naruto wanted to argue. _Technically_, it was, but the flowers were meant for Hyuga NEJI for kami's sake.

"And how old are you?" asked Hiashi, anger radiating off him like a heater on a cold Monday morning. Hiashi said 'you' like a terminal disease.

"Th-th-th-thirteen…" squeaked Naruto.

"Do you realise that makes a bit of an age difference between you and my daughter?"

Naruto made a strangled gargle.

"Otousan, doesn't that make him a pedophile?" asked Hanabi innocently.

"Yes it does." growled Hiashi, "And I will NEVER allow a pedophile near _my_ daughter. But don't you worry Hanabi, otousan is here and he'll protect you. Otousan is going to teach Uzumaki a _very_ good lesson."

Being beaten up by Hyuga Hiashi was like being run over by a steamroller and stampeded by a herd of elephants at the same time.

After ten minutes of what seemed like weeks on end of torture, Naruto staggered out of the Hyuga compound.

Naruto thought about crawling back to his house.

_'…Maybe I should bunk with Iruka sensei for a bit.'_

"N-n-n-naruto-kun…" a shy voice stammered out, "A-a-are you ok?"

Naruto turned around slowly; every muscle protesting.

"Hinata! I'm fine!" Naruto said, grimacing as he smiled, looking like he was eating something sour.

"A-a-are you sure? Y-y-you haven't g-gotten c-completely better after last time I helped-" Hinata's eyes grew wide in horror as she clasped her hands to her mouth; she had let out the secret she had sworn to carry to her grave!

"_You_ helped me last time?!" said Naruto disbelievingly.

"W-well I c-c-could hardly l-leave you out there and b-besides I-I-" Hinata babbled nervously.

_'Oh no! I sounded stupid. Again!'_

A wide grin grew on Naruto's face. He flung his arms around Hinata exuberantly, not noticing she was starting to faint.

"It was you after all! Do you know how long I've been trying to thank you?!" exclaimed Naruto.

"N-n-naruto…" Hinata blushed, trying to not faint.

"UZUMAKI!" bellowed a voice.

Naruto leapt back, as if electrocuted; a rather amazing feat after being steamrollered.

Hiashi stood fuming in front of Naruto, blocking Hinata.

"I thought you would have learnt your lesson, but it seems not after all!"

"I-it's not like that!" yelped Naruto, preparing to flee for his life.

"I WILL NOT FORGIVE ANY BOY THAT COURTS MY DAUGHTERS. NONE!"

Hinata giggled helplessly as her father chased a terrified Naruto away.

'Having an over-protective father had its good points too,' Hinata thought, smiling to herself; she'd get to help Naruto again after her father beat him up.

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